London’s shortage of affordable housing is eroding the capital’s infrastructure and affecting a wide range of public services, an Audit Commission report warned this week.
Working capital, the first of a series of reports into the state of London’s public services, painted a bleak picture of the capital’s housing crisis.

A lack of affordable housing contributes to problems with public sector staff recruitment and retention, and affects key public services, it said.

It also suggested that high housing costs are pushing families into poverty. Forty three per cent of children live in households below the relative poverty threshold when housing costs are taken into account.

The report highlighted a number of other areas in which London is failing its residents. It cited the rise in complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman about housing benefit administration, which reached 4,000 in 2000/01 (Housing Today, 6 September).

Failures in customer care caused hardship, anxiety and even the threat of eviction for some claimants, it said.

The report also quoted a survey of Best Value repairs and maintenance inspections that found that out of nine inspections only two were rated as good (Housing Today, 17 January) – though all London councils were deemed likely to improve.

Planning applications also take longer in London. On average, 61.6 per cent of householder planning applications are decided within eight weeks, compared to the national average of 74.6 per cent.

Laura Hare, policy officer at the London Housing Federation, welcomed the report’s recognition of the problems and called for more investment.

“It’s a major step forward that the problems caused by London’s shortage of affordable housing are being widely and independently acknowledged,” she said.

“But what is really needed now is investment on a scale to deliver the range of different affordable housing solutions that Londoners need.”

Source

Housing Today

Postscript

www.audit-commission.gov.uk